Four Sugar Bowl Participants to be Inducted Into College Football Hall of Fame

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Four former Allstate Sugar Bowl participants are among the 14 members of the 2011 College Football Hall of Fame Class as announced by Archie Manning, the chairman of the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame. Manning, himself, is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame as well as the Most Outstanding Player of the 1970 Sugar Bowl. He is also a member of the Allstate Sugar Bowl Committee.

The Sugar Bowl now has 44 former coaches and 81 former players who have been enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame.

The 2011 College Football Hall of Fame Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) Class will be inducted at the NFF Annual Awards Dinner on December 6, 2011, at the Waldorf=Astoria in New York City. They will be officially enshrined in 2011.

A consensus All-American in 1978, Lyons enjoyed considerable success under College Football Hall of Fame coach Paul "Bear" Bryant. The Crimson Tide compiled a 42-6 mark and finished 24-2 in SEC play during Lyons' tenure in Tuscaloosa. Lyons was a member of four bowl winners, including the 1975, 1978 and 1979 Sugar Bowls, helping the Crimson Tide win their 10th national title in 1978. For his career, Lyons compiled 202 tackles, 20 sacks, 11 tackles for loss, five forced fumbles and six fumble recoveries. In addition to earning All-America honors as a senior, he was a two-time All-SEC player and was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 1978. Lyons was also placed on the SEC All-Decade Team and the Alabama Centennial Team.

A highly decorated player from Miami's national championship teams in 1987 and 1989, Russell Maryland left a wake of victories during his storied collegiate football career, including a win over Alabama in the 1990 Sugar Bowl. A unanimous All-American as a senior in 1990, Maryland took home the Outland Trophy as the nation's best interior lineman. He was a Lombardi Award finalist and was named the College Football Lineman of the Year by the UPI. He completed his Hurricanes career with 279 tackles, 25 tackles for loss and 20.5 sacks. Miami's Jack Harding Most Valuable Player Award winner in 1990, Maryland helped the Hurricanes to two national titles, four bowl wins, a perfect home record and a 44-4 overall record in his four seasons in Coral Gables.

A two-time unanimous All-American, the electrifying Deion Sanders stands among the top Seminole players in history, and he became a critical force in Florida State's historical run under Hall of Fame Coach Bobby Bowden. Sanders won the Thorpe Award as the nation's best defensive back and finished eighth in Heisman Trophy voting in 1988 and also led the nation in punt returns that season. He is tied for third in school history with 14 career interceptions (including the game-clinching interception in the end zone in the 1989 Sugar Bowl) and shares the school record with four interception returns for a touchdown. Sanders remains the most prolific punt returner in school annals, holding the career records for punt returns and punt return yardage and sharing the record for punt return touchdowns. He helped the Seminoles to four bowl wins and led Florida State to the first two of 14 consecutive AP top five finishes.

A consensus All-American in 1968, Jake Scott was a record-setting safety that led Georgia to an SEC championship and the 1969 Sugar Bowl as a junior. In addition to making numerous All-America teams as a junior, Scott was named the SEC's Most Valuable Player by the Nashville Banner. A two-time First Team All-SEC pick, he led the conference in interceptions in 1967 and 1968. Scott's 16 career interceptions remain a school record, and he is one of three players in SEC history to return two picks for touchdowns in the same game. He led the Bulldogs to the league crown in 1968 by intercepting 10 passes (tied for second-most in school history) and compiling 440 punt return yards, which ranks fourth in school history.